Flooring construction



March 31,1942. G, E, SWENSON 2,277,892

FLOORING CONSTRUCTION Filed July 7, 1938 INVENTOR I i j I L J I 64-0 9: E Sn s/vsom ATTORNE4 I Patented Mar. 31, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE FLOORING CONSTRUCTION George E. Swenson, Hastings on Hudson, N. Y., assignor to The Celotex Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application July 7, 1938, Serial No. 217,877

6 Claims.

In the laying of floor surfacing materials, that is in particular, fioor surfacing materials which are of appreciable thickness and which are inadjacent units should be sealed to prevent the entrance into the joints of moisture, dirt and the like.

In addition to the above mentioned deficiencies of flooring materials of the general character mentioned the step involved in laying such floors wherein the joints between adjacent units are filled or caulked with a mastic material is a slow and tedious procedure and furthermore, a complete filling of cracks between adjacent units with the mastic is difficult. Still further, when mastic joint fillers are used between adjacent flooring units it often happens that as the individual units expand and contract that the joints either open up due to the fact that the mastic is not'securely adhered to each edge of adjacent units or that,

due to expansion of the units, the mastic is forced up or mushroomed out of the joints.

It is a particular object of this invention to provide a construction of floor surfacing material wherein the various disadvantages and unsatisfactory performance of heretofore used fioor construction and methods of laying flooring materials are overcome. Particularly it is an object of this invention to provide a flooring construction and method of laying floors wherein for floor surfacing materials laid in the form of a pluralityof individual units provision is made at the joints between adjacent units to allow for expansion and contraction of the units, to provide a satisfactory and permanent joint seal and to provide a joint between adjacent units which is permanently filled with a material which will neither shrink, so that cracks between adjacent units are left open, nor will it mushroom out of the joints. Still additional advantages of my construction and additional objects of my invention will become apparent on reading the following specification when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a .fragmentar portion of my improved floorconstruction;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view of my floor construction illustrating a corner where four units come together; and v Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 5 3-3 of Figure 2.

In the drawings in the various figures thereof, similar reference numerals are used to designate similar elements in the several views.

In the drawing there is illustrated a surface indicated by numeral It) to which surface is to be applied a floor surfacing material ll, applied in accordance with my improved method of application and incorporating my improved construction. It is of course to be understoodthat the base floor It to which the finished floor surface suitably grouting with cement or the like.

The units illustrated in the drawing as comprising the finished flooring may be suitable floor units such as cork tile, wood tile or the like but such are preferable units which are formed from fibre insulating board as a base material which base material is saturated with suitable asphaltic or compounds of generally like physical properties, as, for example: asphalt of between 110 and 180 degrees F. melting point, or other saturant having physical characteristics more or less similar thereto, as for example, by saturation with an equivalent pitch.

The units ll may conveniently be inch thick and 12 inches by 12' inches in dimensions and more or may not be provided with a bevel around the top edge, which bevel in the drawing is indicated at l2.

According to my construction, the finished floor units I l are laid on the base floor l0 and adhered 40 thereto by a suitable adhesive or mastic indicated l I tend to expand or contract due to atmosphericchanges or the like or due to other causes, the units I I may adjust themselves and possibly shift their positions slightly to compensate for any slight movement which may be brought about 5 due to the causes mentioned.

According to my invention, there are provided for placing in the joints between adjacent units I l relatively thin strips of joint filler material I which strips of joint filler material are convenien'tly prepared of width equal to the height or thickness of units I I or if the units are beveled to a width or height equal to the dimension from the back of unit II to the base of its surface bevel I2. The joint filler strips may be furnished as strips of any convenient length or may be prepared in rolls which can be cut to length as may be required. Preferably the joint filler strips ll if provided in individual strip form will have the ends of the strips scarfed as indicated at I; or if the filler strip I4 is furnished in rolls, lengths when out therefrom may be scarfed either as they are cut from the roll or afterwards as may be convenient.

In laying the finished floor units H they may be laid with four corners of adjacent units coming together as indicated in Figure 2 or they may be laid in'any other convenient arrangement as for example, considering Figure 2, the units indicated to the right of the vertical joint may be displaced laterally so that the horizontal joint is broken and is not continuous across the finished fioor. It is, of course, to be understood that the pattern in which the units II are laid will depend somewhat on the shape of the units which may be square or rectangular or the like or even triangular'or other regular shape and is also dependent upon the floor pattern which it is desired shall be obtained.

The application of my invention is independent of the shape of the units II and of the pattern in which such units are laid and'is generally applicable.

The joint'filler strip ll comprises a base of fibrous material which may conveniently be a felt such as is ordinarily used in the manufacture of saturated roofing products which felts are available indifferent thicknesses but which conveniently for the purpose hereof will preferably be approximately of inch thickness. The felt comprising the base for the joint filler strip i4 is preferably saturated with a relatively soft and ductile asphalt as for example, a Venezuelan residual asphalt of about 105 to 120 degree F. melting point or with an equivalent coal-tar pitch or the like.

The felt base of the joint filler strip It should be saturated with the saturant to theextent of approximately 200% of its weight and subsequently for the purpose hereof the such saturated sheet should be preferably surface coated on both sides or faces with a relatively thin coating of asphalt or other substance depending upon the saturant used which surface coating will preferably be of the same substance or substances used for saturating but of a slightly higher melting point as for example, the felt, if saturated with asphalt of 105 degree F. melting point will preferably be coated with asphalt having a melting point of say 110 or 120 degree F. It is to be understood that the procedure of saturation and coating the felt as described is substantially the same as the steps involved in the preparation of saturated and coated roll roofing and that the desired ,oint filler strips [4 may be conveniently prepared from substantially any good grade of saturated and coated roll roofing.

In the laying of a finished fioor of the fioor surfacing units II in accordance with the inventions hereof, the base l being reasonably level and smooth as has beenbefore referred to, has

or less, dependent to a large degree upon the specific characteristics of the mastic being used.

After mastic has been applied to the base ID as described, a unit II is laid thereon, preferably laid on the mastic a slight distance from the final position to be taken by the unit and then the unit is under firm pressure pushed or moved applied thereto over an area somewhat in excess of the area of a single unit of the finished flooring H a continuous layer of the mastic oradhea slight amount diagonally to properly position the unit.

The next step in laying a finished fioor surface of units ll according to my invention, is to take a strip of the joint filler material prepared as hereinbefore described, which strip of material will have applied to its face a suitable solvent, which if the strip is saturated and coated with asphalt may be any usual solvent for asphalt as for example, gasoline, naphtha, carbon-disulfide or other appropriate solvent. In applying the solvent to the surface of the joint filler material it is to be understood that the aim of such application is that of rendering the surface of the joint strip sticky or tacky and that the solvent should consequently be applied only in limited quantities to achieve such purpose and that appreciable excess of the solvent other than that required to merely moisten the surface should not be applied.

The solvent when applied to the surface of the joint filler material will render the surface tacky orsticky and thus the next step in applying the finished floor will be to lay one of the joint filler strips It with its surface rendered tacky as described against an edge of a previously applied finished fioor unit ll. Due to the fact that the surface of the strip H has been rendered tacky as-described, the strip will, when pressed into contact with the edge of a unit ll adhere and as the solvent evaporates the asphalt or equivalent material with which the strip I4 is coated will harden or go back to its original consistency but the strip it will be securely adhered to the edge of the unit II. If the unit H in its manufacture has had its edges coated with an asphalt, it will of course result that the solvent applied to the face of the fibre joint filler strip M will somewhat soften the asphalt on the edge of unit H against which the strip [4 is applied, in which case the asphalt coatings, one on the edge of unit II and one on the face of strip M will fuse together and strip M will be securely held in place.

The next step in the laying of the finished floor surface is to apply further mastic l3 followed by the application of a further unit II which unit will of course be bedded in the mastic and firmly pushed into place against the exposed face of the strip H which had previously been applied as described. In accordance with the foregoing description, the contacting faces of the applied joint filler strips l4 and floor units II will be firmly adhered.

By repeating the various steps of the application of the finished floor as described it will of course result that the such flooring may be applied over the entire area which is to be floored and it will result that the finished fioor surface is to all intents and purposes a continuous and unbroken surface over the entire area to which the finished floor has been applied.

In the finished floor, the joint filler strips I 4 serve to securely adhere the edges of adjacent fioor units ll, through the intermediary of the strip. l4 and the adhesive carried thereby and to provide an exposed surface without cracks through which water may seep in, between or be hind the units and without cracks which may fill up with dirt or the like. Nevertheless there is provided a finished floor which may expand and contract or move slightly orweave without opening up joints between units ll since the strip I4 is flexible and is somewhat expandable and contractable across its width or thickness, when considered in the position which it has in the finished floor surface.

In applying the joint filler strips l4, it is advisable that thestrips be applied so that they lap over joints between adjacent units such as is shown in Figure 2, in that joint which is vertical when viewing the drawing from the bottom of the sheet, so that the joint in the strip will come at a point such as that indicated by numeral I5. It is of course readily understood where a filler strip I4 extends across a joint as has just been described, that a filler strip in the direction of,

right angles thereto cannot extend across the joint between adjacent units but that in such case it will merely abut the previously applied filler strip.

In accordance with the above described construction and following the methods of application as set out in detail, it is readily seen that in the finished floor eachof the units H is securely bound into the whole and that without open cracks or joints provision has been made for expansion and contraction such as may occur due to atmospheric changes in temperature and humidity or from other causes.

While the joint filler strip has been specifically described as prepared in accordance with the general procedure of the manufacture of roll roofing, it is to be understood that the filler strip may be made from other materials, as for example, it may be prepared by suitably saturating and coating 9. thin sheet made in accordance with the general procedure of the manufacture of fibre insulating board, or it may be prepared from any other suitable material which will provide a finished product having the desired characteristics therefor. The finished floor units l I may be saturated fibre insulating board as was particularly described or they may be of practically any other flooring material which is prepared in units for laying and for example, such finished flooring units may be cork, tile or wood units or the like, it of course being understood that my methods hereof and inventions are not very satisfactorily applicable unless the finished fioor units have appreciable thickness say of about A; inch as a minimum up to /2 inch or substantially any greater thickness in which it is desired that the units may be made and applied and that in any case tne joint filler strips [4 are cut in proper width or height to extend through the thickness of the finished floor when applied.

The various suggested alternatives of various features of my invention are of course to be comreadily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is intended that such shall be comprehended within the scope hereof.

The inventions hereof having been fully disclosed and described in detail, I claim:

1. In a floor construction comprising a floor ree ceiving base and a protective wearing surface applied thereto, the combination with the applied Wearing surface comprising a plurality of units laid on said base in spaced side by side relation and adhered to the floor receiving base by a layer of plastic adhesive, of strips of impregnated and coated fibrous material adhered to the edges of adjacent units and filling the spaces therebetween, whereby a joint filler isformed between the contiguous units allowing the applied wearing surface to expand and contract.

2. In a floor construction comprising a floor receiving base and a protective wearing surface I applied thereto, the combination with the applied wearing surface comprising a plurality of units laid on said base in spaced side by side relation and adhered to the floor receiving base by a layer of plastic adhesive, of strips of fibrous material adhered to the edges of adjacent units and filling the spaces therebetween, and the said strips filling the spaces between adjacent units comprising sheet form felted fibrous base material impregnated with an asphaltic substance, whereby the strips between contiguous units completely seal the joints for-med thereby and allow expanv sion and contraction of the units.

;3. A floor covering comprising an assemblage of spaced units, fibrous strip material in the spaces between the units, and the fibrous strip.

material asphalt saturated and coated adhered to the edges of the units and securing the units in a unitary floor covering assemblage, whereby the units are adapted to expand and contract.

4. The combination with a floor covering comprising an assemblage of spaced asphalt saturated fibre board units, of asphalt saturated and coated fibrous strip material in the spaces between the units, and the strip material adhered to the edges of the units and securing the units in a unitary floor covering assemblage, whereby a continuous and sealed exposed floor covering comprising expansion joints is formed. Y

5. The combination with a floor covering comprising an assemblage of spaced asphalt saturated fibre board units, of asphalt saturated strip material in the space between the units, the strip material having on its surfaces a coating of a 'substance adapted to become adhesive upon application of a solvent thereto and by said coating adhered to the edges of the units to secure the units in a unitary floor covering assemblage.

6. As an article of manufacture, a joint filler strip for spaced tiling units comprising fibrous prehended as within the scope of the inventions hereof and it will be readily understood hat other alternatives and variations therefrom will be material asphalt saturated and coated, and the strip adapted to become adhesive upon the application of a solvent whereby the strip is adapted to adhere to contiguous units forming a joint.

GEORGE E. SWENSON. 

